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Blog Entries by Adam Polaski

Today, Congressman Richard Hanna (R-NY) announced his support for the Respect for Marriage Act, bill HR-1116, which would repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. Congressman Hanna is the 159th cosponsor of the bill and the second Republican cosponsor.

Today, Republican politician Newt Gingrich said that the Republican Party must heed public opinion and acknowledge the support that the freedom to marry has seen in recent years. The Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry leadership committee responded, applauding the statement and calling for change in the Republican Party.

Yesterday, the Brazilian state of São Paulo announced that same-sex couples in the state will soon have the freedom to marry. São Paulo now joins Bahia and Alagoas as states in Brazil where same-sex couples can marry without additional obstacles.

On Monday, Rhode Island's state Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed said that legislation extending the freedom to marry to same-sex couples would "certainly" be brough to a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2013. If the committee votes in favor of the bill, the freedom to marry would go before the full legislature in Rhode Island.

Today, we're celebrating the anniversary of the freedom to marry passing in Washington, D.C. by sharing 12 beautiful wedding photos from one of the hundreds of loving same-sex couples who have married since the law took effect in March 2010 - JaLissa Coffee-Sterrett and Janell Sterrett.

The U.S. Supreme Court has announced that it will hear the Proposition 8 case in the 2013 session. One of the best ways to make the case to the Court is by sharing stories of happy same-sex couples. Eleven couples decided to do just that by sharing their stories with Freedom to Marry. Meet them!

Nearly a full year ago, on January 1, 2012, a civil union law went into effect in the state of Hawaii, allowing same-sex couples to apply for and receive civil unions. This week, the Hawaii Department of Heatlh announced that 719 same-sex couples have joined together in civil union this year.

Yesterday, two Illinois state legislators said that they will be working hard in the next month to pass the freedom to marry in Illinois. In three weeks, the General Assembly reconvenes, and two lawmakers responsible for sponsoring a freedom to marry bill have said they will push for the approval of the bill soon after the legislative session resumes.

No one knows the struggle in Maine better than the loving and committed same-sex couples who saw their freedoms granted, denied, debated, and finally embraced by a majority of Mainers. One of these couples - Beth Allen and Valerie Frey - have been intimately involved in the Maine campaign since the beginning. Here, they've shared their story - and 11 photos chronicling their love and commitment.

The campaign to win marriage has galvanized particularly remarkably in Latin America, where three countries made major advances in the past few weeks. Here's a run-down of the movement in Mexico, Uruguay, and Colombia.